National STEM Champions Corp
VigyanShaala STEM Champions Corp unites a network of one million women and men, including mentors, students, academicians, corporate leaders, government officials, and foundation representatives, to create a robust support system for STEM-based careers.
Vigyan Shaala College Labs:
Established in Pune in 2023 within local Science and Engineering colleges, VigyanShaala began by extending mentorship, hands-on engagement, and training to under/post-graduate students in STEM fields. The next phase for planned VS Labs will encompass tinkering, concept, and maker spaces, emphasizing project-based learning, research and development initiatives.
VS Labs as Epicenters of Outreach in High Schools:
VigyanShaala fosters a culture of citizen science that engages with local high schools to advocate and inspire participation in STEM subjects. Further, the National STEM Champions Corp, supported with means tested fellowship and quality mentoring, becomes a role model network within rural communities as they break traditional access barriers.
Technology Enabled Peer Networks:
VigyanShaala establishes networks that provide peer mentoring and transitioning support to students at various tiers of education. These networks enable the creation of a global mentoring and resource sharing movement that promotes hands-on STEM education for all through the VS online platform.
STEM Workshops in High Schools:
VigyanShaala performs workshops in high schools and colleges across the country using state of the art STEM experiments where students get hands-on experience with tinkering in science.
- Undergraduate STEM Champions and PhD Students guide the workshops in rural high schools and colleges
- Students experience full 2-days of STEM workshops
- Local teachers of the school are trained to facilitate state of the art experiments.
How We Plan to Scale
We aim to engage 1 million K-12 students with hands-on activities, support the smooth transitioning of 5,000 undergraduates into world class universities and train 500 research scholars as mentors by 2030.
Shivani Semwal
STEM Champion and Kalpana Fellow
Aparna Manoj
STEM Champion and Kalpana Fellow
Aparna Manoj
Our Kalpana Fellow Aparna Manoj, joined us in May 2021 during her second year of Bachelors studies at the Indian Institute for Science Education and Research, Bhopal. Aparna was mentored by Dr Jeksy Jos Manalil.
During the lockdown, Aparna worked with mentor Dr Swathi from Saint-Gobain, India to study electrochromic devices at home. She observed reversible color changes induced by electrochemical oxidation and reduction, usually seen in coordination compounds with simple home set-up. She later bagged an internship at JNCASR Bangalore (one of India’s premier research institutions). In 2023 Aparna won a research Globalink Graduate Fellowship in Canada